nightingale
by alivingfantasy
Summary: "i need a voice to echo, i need a light to take me home."/ spencer relies on toby to get her through a sleepless night. oneshot.


**a/n: just a random oneshot that popped into my head when i couldn't sleep. credit goes to my feels. and to Spoby, my aggravating, beautiful, screwed-up, perfect, disastrous, incredible OTP. **

**i don't own Pretty Little Liars, or Spoby. (i do, however, lay claim to a great deal of emotional attachment to the aforementioned Pretty Little Liars and Spoby. but who here doesn't?)**

**i also do not own Demi Lovato's gorgeous song, "Nightingale", although i owe it my inspiration. **

**enjoy.**

**xoxo,**

**-Ana**

_**-:-**_

_**-nightingale-**_

_**-:- **_

_"i need a voice to echo. i need a light to take me home."/ spencer relies on toby to get her through a sleepless night. oneshot._

**_-:-_**

_**I**n the dream, she was running. Lungs burning, heart pounding, desperately running._

_She needed to escape. Needed to. Her life depended on it._

_In the dream she knew was a dream, she was trapped, four walls surrounding her, mirrors everywhere so that all she saw was her own terrified face, flushed with fear and awash with desperate tears. All she heard were her own screams echoing back at her._

_And then._

_And then, a figure, clad in that now-infamous black hoodie, appeared._

_"Spencer," the faceless figure cooed, its voice dripping malice. "Oh, isn't this cozy? Just you and me? Alone?"_

_In one swift motion, the figure-"A"-grabbed Spencer by the arm, holding her in an iron grip._

_"Let me go!" Spencer struggled against the vise-like hold to no avail._

_"Aw, Spence," there was a playful pout in the voice now. "I had some people I wanted you to see. Some people you care about. But..." she was abruptly released, hitting the hard ground with a thump. "I guess if you're not interested, we'll just speed up the fun part of this night's program." The figure held up a large knife, its silver blade shining menacingly._

_"No!" Spencer recoiled, then forced herself to remain calm. "What...what did you want me to see?"_

_"Not what," the figure corrected, "who."_

_Spencer was forcibly whirled around, and what she saw had her blood turning to ice, all the breath escaping her body._

_"No," she gasped._

_Aria, Emily, Hanna, and her parents were in front of her, tied down, bruised, bloody. Their faces were pale, eyes wide with fear._

_"Spencer. Spencer, you have to help us," Aria pleaded, her voice hoarse._

_"She can't. She's the one who let them do this to us." Hanna's blonde hair was matted with blood, her blue eyes hazy. _

_"No. No, Hanna, I-" she was cut off by the black-hooded figure, who spun her again._

_Toby lay on the floor in a puddle of crimson, unmoving._

_"Toby!" _

_The figure laughed, a deep, evil laugh. "Even the strongest link breaks, Spencer. And you know how we'll break you? By hurting-destroying-those you love. One at a time." _

_Spencer, shaking with sorrow and rage, yanked her arm away and ran toward her boyfriend. "Toby. Toby, I-" But just as she was millimeters away from him, she felt herself crash into something hard, bouncing back. _

_A mirror._

_"A" laughed again. "All that you have, it's just an illusion, isn't it? And all that you have, it'll be gone soon. We'll make sure of that."_

_A tear slipped down Spencer's cheek. "You can't do this."_

_"Oh, sweetie." "A" slid off the hood to reveal a face Spencer knew very well. A face that had haunted her for over two years. Big blue eyes, currently gleaming murderously. Perfect, bow-shaped mouth, outlined in bright red. And those telltale blonde waves._

_"Alison."_

_Alison laughed again. "Took you long enough to figure it out. And they call you the smart one." She paused, pulling the knife out once again. "Time to say goodbye, Spence."_

_The edge of the knife pressed against Spencer's throat. The last thing she saw was the twisted, sadistic smile on the face of her dead friend..._

...And Spencer sat up in bed, gasping as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh, God."

A dream. Just a dream.

She'd thought the nightmares were over. Evidently, she had been wrong.

Shaking, Spencer turned on her bedside lamp, bathing the room in a soft glow. But the light did nothing to remove the horrific images from her mind.

"A" could and would target those she loved. And there was nothing she could do to stop her. Him. Them.

_Toby._

The thought of "A" laying a hand on him made her sick with fear.

God. She had to look into those beautiful blue eyes and see-know-for herself that he was okay.

Hands trembling, she reached for her phone and tapped out a text message.

**I need you.**

Sliding back under her blankets, she let the tears leak onto her pillow, and knew that she, the strongest link, was perilously close to breaking the entire chain.

_**-:-**_

He found her in her bedroom, bundled up on the bed, clutching at her bedspread as if it was the only thing keeping her grounded. Her brown eyes were wide and unfocused; tearstains covered her clammy cheeks.

It shattered his heart.

"Spence." He sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her hand. It was ice cold and still trembling. She didn't blink; he doubted she even knew he was there. "Spencer?" He shook her a little. "It's me. Come back, Spence. It's okay." He pressed a kiss to her hair, fighting his own emotions. "I'm here."

"Toby?" Her eyes sharply refocused and relief hit Toby like a wave.

"I'm right here." He squeezed her hand.

"You came," her voice was soft, shaking as she peered up at him with those heartbreaking wide eyes.

"Of course I came." He kissed the top of her head. "What happened, Spence?"

She swallowed, hard. "Nightmare," she mumbled, pressing her face to his shoulder. He felt tears dampen the skin at his throat and held her close, laying his chin against the top of her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, gently rubbing her back.

"In a minute."

For the moment, she was content in the arms of the man she loved. The vivid, horrific dream already seemed more like a distant memory as she breathed in his scent-sawdust and mint-and felt him kiss her shoulder.

He was so gentle, she thought. So loving. So ready to soothe and comfort.

As he held her, Toby felt a whirling mix of emotions: sorrow, anger, concern, fear, and that incredibly powerful love he had for the beautiful girl in his arms.

Spencer lifted her head from his shoulder, peering up at him. Tears clung stubbornly to her lashes, but she felt steadier. "I'm sorry."

Toby cupped her chin so that he could meet her dazzling amber eyes with his own turquoise ones. "For what?" he asked, kissing her cheek. "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"I woke you up, made you come all the way here-" she started, but he cut her off by kissing her again.

"You needed me. And I needed to make you feel safe again." He kept the sorrow, the anger, the fear at bay, focusing on the love. The love he relied on as much as she. "Don't blame yourself." He rubbed her back in soothing circles for a few more minutes before speaking again.

"Tell me about the dream."

She opened the eyes that she'd let drift shut, sat up, looked him in the eye, took a deep breath, and told him.

"It just shook me up," she finished tearfully, curling back up in his arms as he held her close. "Scared me."

"It's okay," he murmured. "It's okay. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"What about you?" she demanded, looking up at him again. "What about your safety?"

"Spence." He buried his face in her hair. "I'm fine."

"For now, you are. You may not be tomorrow." she took a shaky breath. "Toby...I spent weeks thinking you were dead. I saw you, what could have been you, lying there in the woods, and...God." her voice broke. "I didn't know what to do. Because I'd lost you."

"Spencer," he breathed, tears filling his own eyes. "You're never going to lose me. Ever."

"Promise me," she pleaded.

"I promise." He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her lips. "I love you. So, so much. I'll never be able to tell you how much. And I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened."

"You've already apologized for that a million times," she pointed out, tenderly stroking his cheek. "And I forgave you."

"I didn't deserve it. Your forgiveness."

"Yes," she insisted. "You did. You put yourself in jeopardy for me, Toby."

He sighed, hugging her tightly. "I would do anything for you. You know that."

"I do." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I do know that."

He kissed the top of her head. "Are you going to be able to sleep?" he asked softly.

She took his hand, linked her fingers with his. Shook her head. "No. Toby...the dreams. I'm scared to close my eyes because they're right there." She dropped his hand to frame his face. "I don't want to close my eyes. I want to see you."

Toby squeezed her wrist, then turned his head to kiss her palm. "You already see me better than anyone."

She smiled slightly for the first time that night. "I love you."

When she kissed him, it was long and slow, deep and loving. It was a kiss that represented unity, togetherness. And love.

"No more dreams tonight," she murmured as he laid her back on the bed and wrapped the blanket around her. "Just you. Just me."

He stroked her hair until those deep, golden brown eyes fell closed, until her breathing evened to the steady rhythm of sleep.

"Just us, Spence," he whispered, as he curled up beside her. "Just us."

_-:-_

**short and random and fluffy. as per the usual. thanks for reading :)**

**hope y'all enjoyed #worldwarA-especially the wonderful spoby moments we were blessed with :') **

**and, if it's not too much trouble, leave me a review? please? thank you. **

**xoxo,**

**-Ana**


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